Automatically-controlled mechanism.



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[manue/ rheye E. SCHEYER.

AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLED IVIECHNISM.v

Patented Feb.15,191e.A

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AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLED MECHANISM.

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APPLICATION FILED DEC- I6, 1912.

Peeeeeed Feb.15,1916.

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E.scHEYER. AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLED MECHANISM.

APPLICATIQN FILED DEC-.16, 1912.

1,172,058.I Patented Feb.15,1916.

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1,172,058. Petented. Feb. 15, 1916.

l0 SHEETS-SHEET 6- E. SCHEYER.

AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLED MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED msc. I6, 1912.

l0 lSHEETS-SHEET L E. SCHEYER AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLED MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED Dsc. I6. 1912,.

1,172,058.v l Petented Feb.15,1916.

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E. SCHEYER.

.AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLED MECHANISM. APPLICATION. man Dsc. 16, .1912.

Patented Feb. 15, 1916.-

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EMANUEL SCHEYEB, 0F NEW YORK, N.. Y.

Specification of Letters Patent.

AUT OMATICALLY-CONTROLLED MECHANISH.

Patented Feb. 15, i916.

Application ledfecember 16. 1912. Serial No. 737,072.

To aZZfwhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, -EMANUEL Scrrnrnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, county of New York, State of New York, have invented a new and useful Automatically-Controlled Mechanism, to be known as the Kinautograph, and a particular application of its many uses to the operation of a cutting-machine for cloth and other materials.

- The object of my invention is to provide a means for controlling motion in any directionin space, either in on'e plane or several, cr angular motion, by means of a previouslyprepared record, such as a perforated sheet of paper or other material,an embossed sheet or a cylindrical or Hat record, of the general form of such as are used in In fact, any form of record may be used, where the recorder in whatever form it is used, can be made to retravel its original path.

In order to demonstrate the practical application of mycontrol mechanism, I employ it in the control of a cuttin machine for cloth or other materials, but 1t may be employed in controlling the motions of many other machines.

The device which I employ and which is described in detail here, is a pneumoelec trically controlled machine; however, I do notlimit myself to this, for, employing the same fundamental principles here disclosed, an entirely electrical control, or an entirely pneumatic-control can be devised. Y

The record I employ is a perforated sheet in a roll,somewhat similar in form tothat employed in automatic piano players. I obtain my object by having this perforated sheet pass over a series of tracker ducts.' the various perforations pass over the open'- ngs of the tracker ducts,- certain electrical connections are made, and certain circuits are controlled. The same end may be obtained by using a grooved cylinder, in which a pointer is made to follow the grooved path on the cylinder and the said pointer thereby is caused to make certain electric contacts,

cr control 'the opening or closing of tracker ducts and thus control certain electric or pneumatic circuits. The motion of the tool or any other part of a machine can be split up into component velocities as it travels alongl its path. In the kinautograph, a record is made of these velocities; then by using thisrecord to control certain circuits which speed) in turn control means of transmitting mot1on, the original path of the. tool or other part is obtained. In the particular applica ponent, vwill be called a unit element. Thedirection in which a component velocity is to act having been determined, a unit element 1s arranged to take care of motion along this direction forward and backward.

eral case, any systemnof components can be chosen. In the particular application herein disclosed, rectangular components are used. They are the longitudinal velocity and the transverse velocity of the cutting tool as it travels along its path. A third velocity is used which causes the tool to lie presented at the proper angle to the work as it travels along its path. This is the angular or slope velocity. The unit element of longitudinal velocity will be called the longitudinal motion, that of the transverse velocity, the transverse-motion, and the unit element of angular velocity, the slo e motion. The record ofa. unit element 1s the record of the velocity of the tool or othe part in the direction or about the axis chosen for 7theunit. The word direction is used here in the sense to include both forward (plus) mot-ion and backward (minus) motion parallel to a given line. Velocity as it is known, is a vector quantity havin both magnitude and direction. This record as stated before controls certain circuits and these circuits are made to control the motion of the unit element so that it is plus or minus, and ofA the proper speed. ThereV are many means by which a series'of circuits can be made to control the motion (plus and minus and in of a unit element. The particular method chosen consists essentially of a gear or train of gears causing motion forward and ancther gear or train of'gears causing motion backward. These gears take their motion from a power shaft revolving con- VIn'cases of pure rotation, a unit element of angular velocity is provided. In the genf roo stantly. The control circuits, by operating 'a clutch or other device for transmitting lresulting movement is one which can change gradually from one speed to another as called for by the sequence of the perforations past the different tracker ducts, as the record is continuously fed by. There are many kinds of clutches or other devices for transmitting motion which can be used; also the electrical or pneumatic devices which. can be used to operate the clutches are many. I use a solenoidto operate friction clutches. The winding of the solenoid is so arranged that the control circuits determine the position of its` plunger. When the plunger is in one position it causes one friction clutch to engage, driving one train of gears and causing forward motion; in another position the plunger releases'the clutch just mentionedV and throws in another. which causes the other train of gears to drive in the backward direction; and in still another position, the neutral position, both clutches are disengaged.

My device consists of a carriage mounted on a table of required length. upon which the cloth to be cut is spread in a layer or a number` of layers. The carriage is capable of moving along the table in a longitudinal direction upon fixed ways. A second carriage, mounted on the first, is arranged to move in a transverse direction upon the first carriage, and is carried along with it in a longitudinal direction. The cutting blade is.

attached to mechanism in the transverse carriage. The mechanism holding the blade is of such construction that the knife can be.

turned in an angular direction about its vertical axis, and can have reciprocating motion at the same time.

It is evident that the tool may perform any other function instead of cutting. The tool may be a pointer to mark out any suitable design, or gures, or it may engrave or scratch certain marks on metal or other ma terial. The pointer may mark or write certain letters or figures. The tool mayv be in theA form of a reciprocating needle of a sewing machine, and thereby stitch certain patterns. It Would be particularly useful in a quilting machine, or in an embroidering machine.

It is not necessary that the tool alone should move; certain unit elements can control the m --vement of the tool and others the movement of the work, both acting together giving the desired result. In some forms of embroidering machines, this would be useful.

To cause certain paths to be followed is not the only use to which the kinautograph can be pit. lt can be used to operate the various control levers of a machine according to a previously made record, each leverl -being controlled by a unit element, as in the multiple punch or simple punch for putting rivet holes in structural steel., particularly where a large number of pieces are to have the same punching.

'I he order of the description is as follows: First, the device that automatically controls the movements of the plunger in. its solenoid, by means of the previously prepared record will be explained. In describing that mechanism reference will be made to other parts of the unit element only, when it is necessary to show their relation to the control mechanism. Then itv will be shown how 'drawings forming a part of this speciicaf tion, in which- Figure I is a general plan of the table showing two machines Imounted on same. Fig. II is a longitudinal elevation .of the table taken along the line I-I-H. Fig. III is a section taken along the line I--I. Fig. IV is a piece of the perforated record'. Fig. V is a diagram of the path of the tool over a given piece of work. Fig. VI is a plan of the control. and recording mechanisms. Fig. VII yis a detail of the interruptor used in connection with the making `of the record, taken along the line J-J of Fig. VI. Fig. VIII is a section of the control mechanism taken along the line F-F of Fig. VI. F ig. IX is a section of the control mechanism taken along the line GG Fig. VI. Fig. X is a partial elevation of the control. mechan nism taken along the line K-K Fig. VI. Fig. XI is an enlarged detail of the pneumoelectric contact arrangement, also showing the recording punches as shown in smaller scale on Fig. VIII. Fig. XII is an enlarged section along the line M-M Fig. VIII, showing the solenoids controlling the re cording punches. Fig. XIII is an enlarged section taken along the line L--L Fig. VIII, showing the arrangement of the air cylinders. Fig. XIV is a plan of an electrical selector. Fig. XV is a section of the selector taken on line E-E Fig. XIV. Fig. XVI is an end view of the transverse carriage taken along the line B-B Figs. I and XVII. F ig. XVII is a plan of the transverse carriage. Fig. XVIII is a. sectional elevation of the transverse carriage taken on the line D-D of Figs. I and XVII, showing the cutting tool. Fig. XIX is a view along the line N-N Fig. XVIII. Fig. XX is a section showing control circuits for one unit element. Fig. XXIV is a diagram of the arrangement of thepneumatic tubes in an entirely pneumatically controlled machine. Fig. XXV is a diagrammatic section showing the cylinders and pneumatic selectors. Fig. XXVI shows diagrammatic'ally the method used in making the record in an entirely pneumatic method.4 Fig. XXVII shows a form of magneticclutch which may be used instead of a friction clutch. Fig. XXVIII shows a pneumatic cylinder whose slide valve is actuated by a control solenoid for actuating clutches, where great power is required. Fig. XXIX shows the method used for closing circuits by, means of an embossed record in the all electric method.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to Fig. I the recording and controlling mechanism 8, inclosed in a suitable casing is located at the end of the table 196. The two cables 16, contain all the wires connecting the mechanism 8, with the longitudinal carriages 1.. The cables con necting the transverse carriages 3 with the mechanism 8, will be carried above the machine by means oftrolleys or wires strung above the machine.

Referring to Figs.l VI, VIII, X, XI:

- XIIfand XIII, the motor 79,. by means of tracker ducts d1, d2, d3, etc.

the belt 80, rotates the rollers 74, 75, 54 and 78, which causes the perforated sheet 73 to unwind from roller 74 and wind around roller 7 5, passing over the plate 77 and the The train of connections causing the above motions will be explained hereinafter. The samesource of power 79 also causes the rotation of the shaft 204, and by means of crank shafts 60,

' the exhaust bellows 70 are made to operate.

' ber below atmospheric pressure.

The train of connections from the motor 79 to the shaft 204 will also be explained later. The exhaust bellows are connected with an air chamber 71, which in turn is connected to air cylinders el, e2, e3, etc.,.by means of the pipe 7 2` and connecting pipes 99. The exhaust bellows keep the air cham- 201 is a device knownas the pressure regulator. By

means well known to the art, the spring 202 forces vopen the valve 203 when the reductlon of pressure becomes too great, i. e., greater than a predetermined reduction.

`This permits air at atmospheric pressure to enter, which brings tlfe pressure up to the proper point, when the valve 203 closes again. Y

Referring to Fig. XIwhere a cross section through one of the air cylinders e1, e2, e3, etc., is shown, a and b are two electric terminals attached to the top 61. A piston 95 is kept at the bottom of the cylinder by means of the spring 97 placed on the rod 63 attached to' the piston 95. The spring 97 reacts against the piece 62 which has is brought below atmospheric pressure byA means of ports 101 and 64. When a perfo.- ration passes over a tracker duct d, air at atmospheric pressure enters -the duct and forces the piston inthe corresponding cylinder up against the spring 97 until the disk 100 comes in contact with the terminals a and the terminals b', forming an electrical connection between them. The port 101 is so small in comparison with the port 64 that the leakage through it will have very little effe-ct against the forcing of the piston 95 upward by the inrush of air at atmospheric pressure. When the perforation passes from the top of the tracker duct, and it i's closed, the air below the piston 95 is soon exhausted through the port 101, to such an extent, that the spring 97 forces the piston 95 down, breaking the connection beand section of one of three electrical selectors used in this machine. The' contact arms 44. 45, 46, 47 and 48 are fastened to a disk 65. which is vfixed to shaft 43, inthe case of the transverse motion and are insulated from each other. The disk 66 has a layer of insulation as shown in section Fig. XV, and is concentric with the shaft 43. The contact rings 49, 50, 51,- 52 and 53 connect by means of brushes the arms 44, 47. 48 and 46 respectively, with their proper circuits as explained in the descripl tion of Fig. XVIII. The contact pieces c1, c2, 03,0", etc., separated by insulation from each other are connected electrically to corresponding terminals a1, a2, a?, etc., in the air cylinders a1, a2, a3, etc., which are designated in the typical one shown in Fig. XI

as a. In Fig. XXIII the contacts are shown diagrammatically; 44, 45, 46, 47 and 48 are the correspondingly marked contact arms of Fig. XIV. The areas c1, c2, c3, c4, etc., correspond to the contact pieces similarly marked in Fig. XIV, also a1, a2, as,

etc., correspond to the terminal a' in the cylthere are sixteen circuits with several mul-v tiples of contact pieces around the disk.

There-arel two cycles shown on Fig. XXIII. The number sixteen was chosen here for convenience. Another number could have been used provided the number of strips included between the` eXtreme of arms 44 and 48 is the minimum.

Before continuing further with the description of the operation of the control mechanism, it will be necessary to explain a few of the mechanical parts. f

Referring to Fig. XVII, 18 is the electrical selector for the transverse motion, which is shown in detail in Figs. XIV and XV. There are similar ones for the longitudinal motion and for the slope motion. In the case where the selector is not located at the end of the shaft of the driving. gear,l

as is the case in the transverse motion in connection with shaft 43, the contact rings 49, 50, 51, 52 and 53 are enlarged to allow an opening at the center lfor the shaft to pass through. The selector 18 is fixed to the carriage so that the disk 66 cannot rotate. The arms 44, 45, 46, 47 and 48 are fixed to shaft 43, and rotate with it. It will be shown later that when the carriage moves in one direction, the shaft 43, and hence the arms, rotate in one direction, while if the carriage moves in the opposite direction, the shaft and the arms then rotate in the opposite direction. 33 is a solenoid composed of two solenoids 33a and 331 wound in series with each other with a shunt running ofi:l between them. The location. of this shunt is at e, as shown in the diagrams Fig. XXIII. The plunger 32 is drawn toward solenoid 331, solenoid. 33h, or held between them as the currents are shunted or sent through them in series. It will be shown later that when plunger 32 moves toward solenoid 331, the carriage travels in one di rection, when it moves to solenoid 3311, the carriage travels in the opposite direction, and when it is held between, there is no power driving the carriage in either. direc tion, except its own inertia.

Fig. IV shows a partial view of the perforations in the record passing over a set of tracker ducts for one unit element.` For illustration, it will be assumed that at a certain instant, the carriage is in such a position that the arms of the selector are in the position shown in Fig. XXIII, viz. at c and c1, 46 at 08, etc., and the record in such a position that a perforation is at tracker duct d. This will close the circuit between the terminals a9 and 51 by` means 0f the air at atmospheric pressure, forcing up the piston 95, as shown in Fig. XI. The circuit vshown by arrows m is then closed, viz., from source A through switches 67 and 92, then through electro-magnet 81h, the function of which will be explained later. It then follows through the arm 47 to the contact strip 011, thence from the terminals a9 to 5,9 as explained above, thence through the common point of intersection to .e and through solenoid 3311, thence through resistance .9s back to source. As the solenoid 331 is energized, the plunger 32 is drawn into it, and the carriage is sent forward. The circuit just described contains the dominating current. There. is however, another current passing through the solenoids 33n and 3311 in series. That current is considerably less than the shunted one, owing to the additional resistance tt and the resistance of the solenoids 3311, in its circuit, and therefore leaves the center of magnetism in the solenoid 331. As'the sheet 73 continues to move, the second perforation comes over the neXt tracker duct, and in the same manner as before contact is made between the terminals am and 51. As the carriage moved forward due to the connection between the terminals a and 59 the arms of the selector also moved forward and the contact arm 47 now covers the pieces At the Sametime, the other arms 44, 45, 4G

and 48 travel along in the same relative positions to 47. The fourth perforation also passes overthe duct d, connecting the terminals L11 and 511. The arm 46 is now on contact piece 011,: the one connecting with the terminals L11 and 511. This causes a current to be sent through the circuit marked a. viz, from source through switches 67 and 92, the resistance tt, through solenoid 331, then shunted at e to terminal 511, from terminal 511 to terminal @11 to piece 011, through arm 4G to switch 243, through electromagnet 81c and resistance XX to source, the switch 242 being open and the bar 88 disconnected. The resistance XX is made so much greater than that of sa, tt, 33a and 3311, that the current passing through a is small,

naous and therefore the dominating current flows through the switch 92, through tt,' and through the solenoids 33al and 33b in series, and then through resistance ss to source. The two solenoids 33a and 33b are energized practically equallybringing the plunger 32 very near the center of the triple solenoid 33, and the carriage'remains stationary neglecting its inertia for the purpose of illustration. The arm 45 is now at contact pieces tion. The arm 45 is now brought over contact pieces o8 and o9. The sixth perforation sends the current through the terminals a? and b", and the arm 45, and the carriage is sent still vfarther back. The motion back and forth is continued according totheposition of the perforations.

' In Fig. IV, the perforations are shown spaced with an interval between them in the direction of the feed of the record as well as across the sheet. Any positive spacing can be used the larger the spacing center to center of perforations.' the larger the sheet' for any given path. In this particular application of the kinautograph, I shall space the perforations with an overlap in the direction of travel of the record, although the drawing shows the contrary, for the sake of clearness in showing the individual perforations.. The effect of overlap is that there is always an air cylinder with its contacts connected.

The explanation of the perforations and their effect so farhave been for one unit element; in order that the three unit ele-- ments should be controlled simultaneously, the perforations corresponding to the several unit elements are placed abreast of each other.

In the case of two machines working at the same time over different paths, the perforations of six unit elements are abreast. Then, as the record is fed, the several unit elements act together, each bringing about its component motion, the

e combination is the resultant motion desired. e

The relations between perforations, tracker ducts, air cylinders and selecto-rs are similar for the several unit elements. The contact pieces are shown in cycles and a-rranged around the periphery of the selector. with the several arms 44, 45, etc., revolv- 'ing tracker duct and air cylinder.

ing Within. lThis method is useful where the travel of the unit elements is long. If there were short travel, the contact pieces could be arranged in one or more cycles in a line along the direction of motion of the unit element, and the arms 4-4, 45, etc., attached to the body of the unit element, so that as it moved along,'the arms could pass over the pieces. The arrangement of pieces and arms shown in Fig. XXIIIV illustrates this. Each contact piece, in the case where only one cycle is used and the pieces laid out ina line along the path of the unit element, represents a point on the line of travel of the unit element, and has-a correspond- If the pieces are laid along the path of the unit element but are in cycles, each piece represents a point on the line of travel or pathv of the 'unit element and similar pieces of each cycle are electrically connected to each other and each group of similar pieces has a tracker duct and air cylinder. If, instead of the selector having its contact pieces laid along the line of traveltof 'the unit element, they are arranged around the periphery of a selector with rotating arms, each: piece still represents a point or points on the path of the unit-element. Where the contact arms 44, 45, etc., are directly connected to the shaft of the driving gear of the unit element, as they are when connected to the shaft 43, each complete revolution of the -driving gear causes the contact arms tois' obtained by increasing the diameter of ythe selector, and by having the arms 44, 45, etc., on a shaft geared so `as to revolve faster' than the shaft ofthe driving gear. On' Fig. XXIII the arms 44, 45, etc., are shown, covering adjacent contact pieces in Fig. XIV, they are shown on contact pieces of different cycles but adjacent groups. These two, arrangements are identical in respect to the control of circuits. In the circular selector, this vis done because the size of the arms isV too great to place them on adjacent contact pieces unless the depth of thel contact pieces were made great, enough to place the arms overlapping each other one above the other.

The accuracy y of control can be regulated also by the numthel several circuits.

are of such a width and so spaced that no contact piece is left unconnected to an arm, between the several arms. Means well known to the art will be used to eliminate eddy currents and other forms of inductance from The limit of error within which the unit elementcan be made to move, can be made as small as desired by the several methods just described. By limit of error, I mean the deviation of the motion of the unit element, from the original motion of the unit element, as recorded on the perforated sheet or embossed sheet, or whatever other form of record is used. The two other arms 44 and 48 come into use only when the driving mechanism fails to act in unison with the controlling mechanism. Before explaining the function of these arms, and their relation to the main controlling circuits, it will be necessary to explain part of the mechanism controlling the feeding of the perforated record.

Refer now to FigsiVI, VIII and X. The record 73 is fed by being gripped between the two rollers 54 and 78, and is wound on spool 75. Roller 54 drives and 78 is an idler pressing against it. The shaft 76, which is a continuation of roller 54, extends through 105,.which is the female portion of a friction clutch. 105 in turn is attached to 110, a part of the frame, which xes it against rotation. The male portion of the clutch 106 is fixed to a hollow shaft 76. The hollowT shaft fits over the shaft 76. Shaft 76 is provided with a feather and shaft 7 6a is provided with a slot so that 7 6a slides over 76 longitudinally, but the two are made to rotate together. The shaft 7 6EL extends through the solenoid 102 which is attached to the framelOS. The plunger 104 fits inside of shaft 76%. The male portion-of the friction clutch 109 is rigidly attached to the shaft 7 6a. The female por tion of the clutch 107 is rigidly attached to shaft 223. The spring 108, by pressing against the clutch part 106 forces it into its mate 105, and releases the clutch part 109 from the clutch part 107. In that position, while the motor 7 9 imparts motion to the shaft 223 and to the clutch part 107, by means of belt 80 and pulley 80, the shaft 76 is stationary. If the solenoid 102 is now energized the plunger 104 is drawn in against the spring 108, the clutch part 106' is released from its mate 105, and the clutch part 109 locks with its mate 1,07. -Since the clutch part 107, is rotating, its motion is now transmitted to the shaft 76, and the record is fed. It is therefore evident that in order to feed the record, the solenoid 102 must be energized. The current used in energizing the solenoid 102 must pass through the circuit shown in Figs. VI and X, through the' armatures 87 andthe plates 87gl of the six electro-magnets, 81, 82, 83,

84, 85 and 86. This circuit will be known as the'auxiliary circuit. There is one magnetfor each component motion to be `co1u.

trolled by the record. In this case there are two machines, each having three unit elements, as shown in Fig. I. In order to close the circuit, every one of the magnets` 81, 82, 83, etc., must be energized, then the armatures 87 are brought in contact with the plates 87a. If the current through any one of the magnets is stopped, the arma-f in tracing the circuits c, fm, and a causing the motion of the carriage in either direction, they were made to pass through either helix 81, 81b or 81C, and in such event the record continues to feed. If now a circuity be made such that no current will flow through either helix 81, 81 or b1", the

auxiliary circuit will be broken, the solenoid K 102 will be denergized and the record will stop. Let it be assumed now that something has vhappened to retard the motion yof the carriage while the record continues to feed. Assuming the record in the position shown in Fig. IV, and the armsof the selector in the position shown in Fig. XXIII, and the first perforation has just passed over the tracker duct d", now if the driving mechanism fails to respond, the arm l47 remains on the contact piece c when the second perforation cornes over the duct lll. If there is still no response when the third perforation comes over the duct d, the circuit through the arm 48, the contact piece c and the terminals an and bn,

source through switches 67 and 92, arm 48,

thence through contact pieces c to terminals a and 51.1, thence through z, through solenoid 33h, through resistance ss to source. It will be noted that. no current flows through either helix 81, 81h or 81. This releases the armature 87, breaking the auxiliary circuit, and the record is stopped. The dominating current passes through the solenoid 33", causing vthe carriage to travel in the. forward direction while the record is stationary. This allows the driving mechanism to catch up with the record. As the travel of the carriage continues, it brings the ann 47, up to contact piece c once more, causing the current to flow through the clrcuit m, as the perforation is over the duct du. This sends the current through the coil 81h, closing the augziliary circuit, and starting the record again. That the record is stopped every time the record and body get'out of synchronism by more than the allowed limit of error is true only in the theoretical sense. Most of the time, owing t0 inertia and the slippage of the clutches feeding the record, the feeding motion is only retarded and when the body and record come into unison, the retarding action of the clutches is changed to one of driving. Now, consider again the position of the arms asshown in Fig. XXIII and the first perforation in Fig. IV, just over the tracker duct d". If the driving mechanism should run away from the record, and pass through the neutral position, and beyond, the arm 45 coming into contact with contact piecec, closes the circuit K. This causes the plunger 32 to be thrown to the solenoid 33a and the result is a reverse driving motion in the back direction, bringing the arm 46 over contact piece c. The neutral circuit n is thereby closed. Then as the second perforation comes into line, the machine takes up its normal travel. If the drive should lag behind or run away from the record entirely, no arm would be in circuit with the contacts of that tracker duct energized by the `perforation pasqsing over it. In this condition, no current passes through the magnets 81, and the current passes through the solenoids 33a and 33b in series. This causes both the machine and recordto stop. In order to start the machine now, the parts must be brought into proper position byL hand. In order to locate the position of the machine for-the corresponding position of the record, the position of the various unit elements will be marked on the record at stated intervals to correspond with the marking on the machine.

llhe use of the arm 44 ,and the circuit p is similar to the arm 48 and the circuit o, except it is for motion in the opposite direction.

I do not limit myself to the system of circuits herein described. There are many systems which can be used to accomplish the same control.

In the description of the controlling mechanism, several motions were assumed.

The train of mechanical connections causing transmits motion to shaft, 223, by means of 55 belt 80 and pulley 80a. The manner in which the shaft 223 transmits motion to the shaft 76 has been previously explained. The roller 5 4 revolves in bearings in frames 58 at both ends. The upper part of frame 58 is provided with a slot, in which the end pins ofA the idler roller 78 fit. Rounded bearing pieces 59 are Aplaced in the slot, and are adapted to bear on the pins at the ends of the roller 78. The screws 218 -and 219 press springs 244 against the pieces 59, and thus the roller 78 is made to bear against the roller 54. The pressure can be increased or diminished by screwing 218 and 219 down or up. The perforated sheet is passed between the rollers 54 and 78 and is pulled forward by the rotation of the roller 54 against the roller 78. The gear 214, is fixed to the shaft 76, and drives the gear 221 attached to a spindle revolving in bearings in frames 68. The gear 215 driven bythe gear 221, grips .the vshaft to which the spool is attached by means of friction, but is not rig-v idly attached to same. The lug 69 on the gear 215 isprovided with a hole into which the pin 217 is placed. 217 also fits into a hole in the hub of the gear 215, and by means of the spring 216 is brought to bear against the shaft 75. The pin can be raised by` means of the eccentric lift or cam 222. The spool 75 is used to wind up the perforated sheet as it is fed between the rollers 54 and `7 8. If the gear 215 rotates faster than the record is fed, it will just slide over the shaft 75. The gear 210 is Xed to the shaftI 223, and drives gear 211 fixed to shaft 208.

The shaft 208 revolves in bearings -207 and 209 and drives the gear 212 fixed to it. The gear 220 driven by gear 212 in turn trans- 'mits motion to the gearl 213, which slides over the sliding part of the clutch 93 and is made to turn with it` by the feather 93.

93 fits loosely over the shaft 204. The bearing frames 205 support theshaft 204. The gear' 213 is held laterally by tle four uprights A206. 230,. the mating part of the clutch 93 on the right is fixed to theshaft 204 and its mating part 227 on the left is i the center, the gear 213 rotates idly. If the clutch..93 is thrown to theileft, it engages the. clutch 227 and the sprocket 224is rotated. The rotation of 224 is transmitted to sprocket 225 byv means of chain 200. The

sprocket 225 is ixedvto shaft 74a. The record kspool 74 has a friction grip over shaft 7 a and gets 4its motion from it by means of pin 198,- passing throughlug 228, and being pressed down by spring 229. The pressure is released by raising the eccentric lifter or cam 199. When the clutch 93 is thrown into its mating part 227, the record will wind up on the spool 74. When the machine is in operation, the clutch 93 is thrown into its mating part 230 and the cam 199 is raised so that the spool 74 will revolve freely on shaft 74a, and the record will unwind, and be wound on the spool 75. Means not shown but well known to the art will be provided for attaching a record to the spool 74. The cam 222 is kept down when it is working thus. In rewinding the record, the cam 222 is lifted and the cam 199 is put down. In order to conveniently throw the clutch 93, it is provided with a groove, over which a loose collar is fitted. The pin 93a is screwed into that collar, and is held in place by the plate 93h, provided with a slot. To throw the clutch, the pin 93a is pulled to either side. The curved plate 77 is used as a guide and support for the record sheet. It is held in place by uprights, and at ends not shown in figures.

In the description above, it was shown how a previously prepared record controlled p the movements of a plunger in a solenoid.

In this description, it was assumed that if the position of the plunger in the controlling solenoid were on one side, the unit element would move in one direction, if it were at the other end,- the unit element would move in the opposite direction, and if it were at the center, the unit element would not be driven in either direction eX- cept by its own inertia. That there is a corresponding change of motion of the unit element for each change of position of the plunger is true only in a theoretical sense and is a useful assumption for the purposeA of illustration. Owing to inertia and other factors inherent in' the mechanism, the

. changes of motion of the unit element lag behind the changes of position of the plunger; This has the advantage of steadying the motion of the unit element, resulting in a smoothly running motion, permitting gradual changes in speed and direction.

The details of the longitudinal carriage will' now be described, to' show how the above mentioned results are obtained.

Referring to Figs. I, XXI and XXII.

the table 196 is provided. with V ways 2, on

each side of the table and running its length.

.The longitudinal carriage 1, is provided with two shoes 111 atN the bottom, which slide over the V ways 2; The gears 127 and 1273, attached to the carriage 1, engage with the two racks 14, running the length of the table. It is evident that if the gears 127 and'V 127 a rotate in one direction, the carriage will ,move say, in a forward direction, and if the gears rotate in the opposite direction, the carriage will move in a backward direction. It will now be necessary to trace the relation between the movement of the plunger in the controlling solenoid, and the gears 127 and 127 a.

Referring to Fig; XXI, the motor 27, supplying the power for this machine, is directly connected to shaft 27, and is properly supported on the framev work of the carriage. The gear 35 is fixed to shaft 27 1, the arma' ture shaft, and engages withv gear 36. The gear 36 transmits its motion to shaft 37, to which it is fixed. The hollow shaft 37"L has an inside diameter large enough to fit over the shaft 37. A feather on the shaft 37 engages with a slot in shaft 37a, so that they both rotate together, butthe hollow shaft 37a is capable'of sliding over the shaft 37. 113, consisting of two female parts of a friction clutch, is fixed to 37a. portion of this clutch is fixed to'gear 116, but both fit loosely over the shaft 37 a. They are held laterally by the piece of frame work 142. The male portion of the friction clutch on the other side, 115, is similarly fixed to gear 117, theypalso t loosely over the shaft 37a, and are held laterallyby the frame 143. I do not limit myself to the type of clutch here described. Many' forms of clutches capable of reversing the motion transmitted, and transmitting no motion if desired, controlledby the position of the plunger, could be used for the unit elements. The solenoid 141 is placed so that its plunger 140 is at` tached to the end of the shaft 37a. 37a is made of non-magnetic material. for a sulficient distance, so that it will not interfere with the actionof the plunger 140. When the plunger 140 is at the end of the solenoid, as shown in Fig. XXI, the clutch 113 will engage with its mate 114, and drive the gear 116, as the shaft 37 is rotated. If the plunger 140 is at the other end, the v clutch 113 engages with its mate 115, and consequently 114, the male drives gear 117. If 140 is at the center of 114 is'thrown in, the gear' '116 drives the gear 118 which is fixed to the 4shaft 128, which in turn revolves in bearings in frame 146. The gear 129 is rigidly attached to end of shaft 128 'and in turn drives gear 130 and the shaft 131 to which 130 is fixed. TheY shaft 131 revolves in suitable bearings in the frame. and drives the bevel gear 132 which is fixed to it. The bevel gear 133 mates with 132. 133 is fixed to gear 133, or bothare made of one piece and are xed to shaft'134b to which the gea-r 134 is fixed. The gear 134 drives gear 127, which revolves on shaft 231, which is attached to the frame.

The gear 127 Vengages with the rack 14, and thus drives. the longitudinal carriage. The gear 133 drives the gear 135 being in turn xed to shaft 138 which extends for the Width of the carriage. The gearV 135l is fixed to the other end of the shaft 138, and in turn drives gear 133b and the. shaft 134,

A to which it is-fixed. Thegear 134 fixed to bevel gear 124, which is attached fixed to shaft 134, drives gear 127 which in turn engages with rack 14, and drives the longitudinal carriage. It will be noted, that the gears 127 and 127 rotate inthe same direction at the same time and at the same speed, and therefore the carriage is driven" forward at both sides of the table-simultaneously. Whenth'e clutch 115 is thrown in, the gear 117 drives the gear 119, which is shaft 120. The gear 121 attached to the shaft 120, in turn drives gear 122'. The shaft v123 to which 12,2 is fixed, drives the to same. The bevel gear 125 mates with the bevel gear 124. The gear 125h is fixed to 125,- or both are made of one piece, and both are fixed to shaft 126. The gear 126 is fixed to the shaft 126, and in turn drives gear 127 V which engages with rack 14, and therefore the longitudinal carriage is driven in the opposite direction to that when the clutch 114 was engaged with its mate 113. Thel gear 125b drives gear 136, which is fixed to shaft 137. 137 runs for the width of the table parallel to the shaft 138. At the other end of 137, the gear 136al turn drives gear 125. Gear 125 isl fixed to the same shaft as gear 126b (not shown because it is behind 134) and in turn, it drives the gear 127% which engages with rack 14, and transmits motion to the carriage opposite to that when the clutch 114 is thrown in. As noted before, 127 and 127 bear `the same relation in driving the carriage;

139 is the electrical selector for the longitudinal carriage` 'and is similar in construetion tothe one described in Figs. XIVand XV. It is fixed to the frame of the carriage, while its five contact arms are fixed to shaft 232, and hence rotate in the same direction as this shaft. It is therefore evident that-when the `carriage, moves in one direction, the arms will rotate one way. When the carriage moves in the opposite direction, the arms will rotate in the opposite direction and when the carriage is stationary, the arms will be stationary. These were assumptions made in describing the controlling mechanism. In the drawing. and description, the arms of the electrical selector, are shown connected directly to the shaft to which the driving gear 127 is at- 4tached. AIt wasA shown that way for'simof drawings and explanation. In the preferred form, the arms will be attached to a train of gears, so that for any motion of the shaft 232, the arms will travel plicity -into the action isv attached, and in gears,

`more rapidly. There were a few objects kept in view in laying out the gearing for this and the other component motions; one was the elimination of back-lash, and the' others were the accuracy of control, and the keeping of the solenoid within practical size. When the relatively high speed of rotation to the ing gear, the thrust on the clutches can be made much less than on a shaft of slow speed, in order to transmit .the same amount-v of power. This accounts partlyfor the number and complicated arrangement of the gearing. Back-lash is eliminated byhaving in connection with the friction on their bearings and between their teeth, two trains of driving gears instead of one, although it could be eliminated largely by having one train of gears and the racks, the teeth of which would be helical or herringbone shape. However the double train of gears are believed to be best, as no amount of wear will permit any increase of back-lash to enter in sudden reversal of'direction.

Indriving the gears 127 and 127, two .trains of gears are used, one train beginclutches act on a shaft o f drivofthe machine, particularly ning with the gear 117 and ending with the gears 126 and 125, the othertrain beginning with the gear 116 and ending with the gears 134 and 134. yAt any time for motion 'in a given these two trains of gears is driving while the other train is being driven by the gears 127 and 127, so that when reversal in the direction of motion takes place, the driven having their teeth already in contact, do the driving without any lost motion. In order to carry the elimination of back- .lash to a greater degreeof accuracy and perfection, the machine can be constructed so that instead of having one gear 127 andone gear 127 do the driving, as shown, there will be two gears 127 and two gears 127, traveling on'v the racks 14. @ne gear 127 and one gear 127, can take care of the train of gears which cause motion in. one direction, as for example, the train driving the gears 126 and 126, while the otherpair of gears-127 and 127, can take care of the motion in the opposite direction'caused by the train of gears driving the gears 134 and 134, This eliminates the back-lash between one driving gear and a rack in reversal of driving. When the plunger of the solenoid is pulled from one neutral position, as is well -known'instead of stopping, when it gets to the neutral position, it will travel beyond (there is a tendency to oscillation) and throw in the reversing clutch momentarily, which in condirection one train of I '12'0 of its end positions to the Y 21 and drives it.

and are used for bracing the machine. The forms shown are not necessarily the ones used in the machine-as built, but are merely shown to illustrate the parts logically held in place.

In order to transmit the motion from the motor 2T to the transverse carriage, which is mounted on the channel 4 of the longitudinal carriage, its fianges being planed to form, V shaped guides similar to the ways 2 for the longitudinal carriage, the bevel gear 38 is fixed to shaft 37, which is in constant motion When the motor 2T is running. The mating gear 39 is attached to shaft 40,- revolving in bearings .in frames 146 and 147. The shaft 40 drives the bevel gear 41 fixed to it, and in turn 41 drives its mate 42 which is fixed to horizontal shaft The shaft 21 furnishes the power for the transverse carriage mo tion and for the slope motion, and extends for the Width of the longitudinal carriage and is provided with a slot 233.

Referring to Figs. XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX and XX, the gear 22 fits loosely over shaft 21 and is held by a key 234, so that the gear 22 can slide over the shaft 21, but is made to rotate with it. 22 is held in place by the forked guide frame 170, which in turn is attached to the body of the transverse carriage. As the carriage travels over the vvays of channel 4, the gear 22 slides along the shaft 21, and is caused to revolve by same. Gear 23 is driven by the gear 22, and'is also attached to frame 170. Gear 24 is driven by the gear 23, and tits over shaft 31, thereby causing sha ft 31 to rotate. The shaft 31revolves in bearings bf frame 34, and at one end. of same, the plunger 32 of the solenoid 33, is attached. The end of the shaft adjoining 32, is made of non-magnetic material for a sufficient distance not to interfere With the magneticaction of 32. The female part of a friction clutch 25, is fixed to the shaft 31, as is also the female part of another friction clutch 19. The male part of the friction clutch 26, mating With the clutch 25 is fastened to the bevel gear 29. The bore of both is such that they Will fit loosely over shaft 31. The. gear 29 and theclutch 26 are held, in place by the frame 34. The male portion of the friction clutch 20, the mate of 19, is fastened to the bevel gear 28, and both fit loosely over shaft 31. They are held in place by the frame 34a. 34 and 34a are braced by the plate 34".

.The bevel gear 30 fixed to shaft 43 mates with both gears 28 and 29. Whenthe plunger 32 is in the position shoivn, the clutches 25 and 26 are engaged, and shaft 31 drives l gear 29, which in turn drives gear 30. The

gear 28 isdriven by the gear 30. If the plunger 32 is moved to the other end of the solenoid, the shaft 31 is moved laterally, the clutches 25 and 26 are disengaged, and the clutches 19 and 20 are engaged, driving the gear 28 which in turn drives the gear 30 in the opposite direction. 20 is now the driven gear. Since the gears 28, 29 and 30 are always in Contact, when the direction of motion is reversed, backlash is eliminated. `lVhen the plunger 32 remains in the center of the solenoid 33, both clutches are disengaged and the gears 28, 29 and 30 are not driven by 31. The solenoid 33 is the triple solenoid 33, 33b and 33 described in the typical control solenoid. and shown inthe circuit diagram Fig. XXIII.`

The gear 17 is fixed to shaft 43 and is driven by same. 17 engages with rack l5 which is attached to channel 4, and runs the width of the longitudinal carriage as shown in Fig. I. As gear 30 is driven in either direction, gear 17 is driven in the same direction, and consequently the frame 3 to which the shaft 43 and the frame 34 are attached moves back and forth overthe Ways of channel 4. The electrical selector 18 constructed as shown in Figs. XIV and XV, is attached to frame 3. rlhe iive'selector arms are all attached to shaft 43, and rotate with it.

To transmit motion from shaft 21 to the axial or slope component, the gear 148 is feathered to shaft 21, and is made to rotate with same by means of key 235, in the saine manner as gear 22. The gear 148 is held in place by the forked frame 188. 148 drives gear 149,Which in turn transmits its motion to shaft 152. The shaft 152, revolving in suitable bearings and being made of nonmagnetic material for a sufficient distance, is attached to the plunger 151 of the solenoid 150. The female part of a friction clutch 161 is attached to the end Ofshaft 152, and lthe female part of another friction clntch 153 is attached to the shaft 152 near the gear 149, as shoivn. The mating male parts of these clutches 16() and 154 are fastened to the bevel gears 159 and 156 respectively. 159 and 160 fit loosely over shaft 152, and are held in place by frame 190. The clutch 154 and the gear 156 also fit loosely over 152, and are held in place by frame 155. The bevel gear 157, attached `to the vertical shaft 166, mates with both the bevel gears 156 and 159 and is driven by either one. lVhen the plunger 151 is actuated by the solenoid 150, so that it assumes the position shown in Fig. XVII, the clutch 153 engages "vvith its mate 154, and the bevel gear 156 will then drive the bevel gear 157, While the bevel gear 159 Will he driven by the bevel gear '157. If the plunger 151 assumes a position. at theother end of the solenoid, the clutches 153 and 154 will become disengaged., whilethe clutch 160 will become engaged vvith its mate 1.61, since the rotation of the shaft 152 is always in the same direction. The bevel gear 159 will 

